If ever there was a sign of the times, it may be the fact that instead of reviewing the top news stories of 2014, we instead look at what was trending the most of social media – especially Twitter. While some of these may hold quite a bit more importance in the world than others, all were nonetheless what took over our newsfeeds in the past 12 months.
#YesAllWomen: When the horrific killings of six people at the University of California at Santa Barbara occurred this past May, it was found that the man responsible – Eliot Roger – had done it out of frustration towards women not being attracted to him and his anger for his lack of a sex life. Rogers even laid out a 141-page manifesto detailing his plan for the killings to seek his revenge against the women and fellow students who had turned him down. Not long after, the #YesAllWomen hashtag was born and brought revealing and often gut-wrenching anecdotes of violence and misogyny towards women to Twitter feeds everywhere.
#BringBackOurGirls: The Bring Back Our Girls hashtag was the product of an international campaign to save the 273 young girls kidnapped from the Chibok Government Secondary School by the Boko Haram terrorists in Nigeria on April 15th. Politicians, celebrities, activists, and even the First Lady herself came out in support of the students on social media.
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#BreakTheInternet: Not so sure this one needs much explaining, but if you have seen the light of day in the past month or so, you know that Kim Kardashian did a very nude and oily (?) photo shoot of her famous badonkadonk. So famous, in fact, that everyone’s favorite talk show host Ellen Degeneres even made it her mock (hopefully) Christmas card.
#Lebroning: If you’re a sports fan, you either love him or you hate him. Regardless, the #Lebroning trend started after game one of the NBA finals when the Miami Heat lost to the San Antonio Spurs. Heat star, Lebron James was carried off the court complaining of cramped legs, and the Internet replied with what the Internet does best.
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#Ferguson, #ICantBreathe, #BlackLivesMatter, #CrimingWhileWhite: Following the decisions of Ferguson and New York Grand Juries not to indict the police officers responsible for the deaths of two unarmed black men, the tweets were sent out in the millions. Perhaps one of the most engaging social media phenomenon’s in recent times, the social activity surrounding race-relations, civil rights, and police-civilian relations was and continues to be a trending topic on most social platforms.
#ThingsTimHowardCouldSave: Along with the obvious #WorldCup2014, the Tim Howard hashtag was maybe one of the most entertaining of hashtags for the whole year. After an incredible performance in goal for Team USA against Belguim, the hashtag sparked such tweets as:
#IceBucketChallenge: You did it, your mom did it, and your grandma probably even did it. The Ice Bucket Challenge was set up to spread awareness for ALS – also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease. Celebrities, former presidents, even some people’s dogs (questionable) even participated in the challenge, which raised over $100 million for the ALS Association.